Jigsaws for home improvement - what features to look for

experience can be used by home improvement over the years. Good tools require you to buy the right products.

One tool that is standard in home improvement is the jigsaw. The following article teaches do-it-yourselfers about important characteristics that their future jigsaw must possess.

Easy Machining of Wood with a Jig Saw

As home improvement, regular projects are the order of the day:

The construction of a birdhouse,

Construction of a shed or

the construction of a tree house.

What do these projects have in common? The material used is wood. This is no coincidence, because wood is a natural resource that grows back, is abundant and relatively cheap. Wood has another advantage: home improvement can easily process the natural material.

The easy processing of wood is only possible if home improvement has the right tool. One of these tools is the jigsaw we are talking about in this article.

Choosing a Design

When you talk about jigsaws today, you mean the electric version. The original jigsaw was manually operated. Their history began in the first to third centuries at the time of the Romans. The Roman jigsaw had a fairly wide saw blade and a long, round-shaped handle.

Today the hand-held jigsaw is used in firefighting or drywall for processing plasterboard. For home improvement, the purchase of a manual jigsaw is not worthwhile, because it is inferior to the electric version.

The electric jigsaw can be divided into two types:

Rod shape : The traditional device is available in the so-called rod form , As the hand attaches to the housing, this type of construction can be guided more precisely.

Iron-on : In the case of the bracket, the entire construction is under the hand. Do-it-yourselfers need a little more effort to guide the instrument precisely.

Another reason for the classic rod shape is that do-it-yourselfers, who saw in unfamiliar positions (from below or overhead), are more at ease with the unit. Unfortunately, jigsaws are mostly available in hardware stores.

Guides for the jigsaw

The pencil tear is usually the guide aid for many do-it-yourselfers. Especially inexperienced people who have not used the jigsaw sufficiently will not achieve clean cuts. However, even professionals who value clean cuts, use guide aids.

A popular guide is the so-called circle cutter. This is used, for example, when sawing out sinks or speakers. Guide rails help to saw straightforward.

The use of a guide rail requires a matching saw blade.

Note pendulum stroke and splinter protection

Every jigsaw has a so-called pendulum stroke, which performs two movements. Behind the saw blade, a roller swings back and forth. Furthermore, there is an up and down movement of the saw blade, also called stroke movement. The aim of this component is to minimize the effort required for sawing. The downside is that it breaks out.

The perfect cutting edge is tear-free and right-angled. To achieve this level of perfection, do-it-yourselfers must choose a jigsaw that has good splinter protection. In addition, they must learn to adjust the pendulum stroke to match the material to be machined.

The thicker and harder the wood, the higher the pendulum level should be.

Observe performance characteristics and test reports

Apart from the mentioned properties, which should be considered when buying a jigsaw, the performance and features always play a role. The power of the jigsaw is expressed in watts (W). It should be at least 600 watts. Just as important as the power is the torque, the stroke rate and the pendulum stroke:

The jigsaw data sheet reveals only half the truth about the device. For this reason, we recommend home improvement to read the reviews and comparisons to jigsaws on elektrowerkzeug-vergleich.de. Here you will find practical experiences with the devices that reveal more than the product data.

Comfortable features of Jigsaws

Comfort features such as a work light are practical, but not a must. It illuminates the sawmill and helps the handyman work more accurately and safely. This is especially important when home improvement work in low light conditions.

Also useful is a blowing or sucking device. The former blows away saw dust so that the saw blade is free of sawdust. Practical is a suction device that removes all sawing scraps that occur at work.

The right saw blades for every application

Many DIY enthusiasts only pay attention to the device and its properties when buying a jigsaw. The blades are at least as important.

Manufacturers have defined different names for their saw blades, informing customers about how long they are and what material they can cut with them.

The designations usually consist of two Elements:

the first element indicates the length of the saw blade in millimeters

the second element indicates the tooth pitch in millimeters

A classical saw blade is about 75 millimeters long and has a pitch of 2.5 to four millimeters , The teeth are usually directed upwards. However, there are also saw blades where the teeth are directed downwards.

The only exception to the above information are saw blades for iron, steel, aluminum and metals. Their tooth pitch is usually only two millimeters.

Summary

When buying a jigsaw, do-it-yourselfers have to pay attention to various properties. Bar-shaped devices are less commonly available on the market but are easier to handle. Important is the purchase of suitable saw blades for the desired work.